Fairline Phantom 48

Rule Brittania!

There are two things today's discerning luxury-boat buyers covet: an accommodating private stateroom with en suite, and an interior that wows family and friends. That the new Phantom 48 has. But this latest Fairline from the regal British boatyard goes further, offering a full-beam cabin amidships and a white-oak interior that wouldn't be out of sorts gracing the pages of the latest European interior-design magazine - real wow factor.

Of course, Fairline isn't a newcomer to our waterways and this writer tested one of the first Fairlines to make a splash Down Under more than a decade ago. Back then, the big-boat systems and engineering put these production boats ranging up to 60 feet or so in a different class to our honest local cruisers and, in many ways, they were the harbinger for the Australian big-boat market today.

But, thereafter, several rather low-key years followed where Fairline seemingly rested on its laurels and let its then sister brand, Princess, take market share. That was until the management buyout in June 2005 with one of Europe's biggest banks, 3i, taking 67 per cent interest in Fairline.

Now, enough of playing second fiddle and the hands-on approach has helped Fairline return to centre stage. In the interim, Fairline reinvented itself with, as the British might say, splendid results. The new breed is still dignified to drive, but now way more contemporary than staid, and refined and cutting edge than safe. Yet the boats are styled on the outside with just the right dash of panache so they don't date too fast.

NEW FACTORY & DEALER
Thanks to the fresh injection of funds and fervency from the management, the Fairline factory - which is still based in a small and ancient village called Oundle in Northamptonshire in the middle of the UK - recently opened a new 5500m² factory in January at a cost of almost $16.5 million. Its primary purpose is - you guessed it - to meet rising demand.

Fairline currently builds just under 300 boats a year, generating some $300 million in turnover, but as most luxury boatbuilders will tell you, demand is strongest at the top end of town. In fact, big-boat sales are why Fairline is in the throes of building a Squadron 55 and will release a 65 next year, and thereafter a new Squadron 85 flagship in 2010.

Meantime, it helps that Fairline has gained new local representation via Mark Chapman Marine, formerly a Princess boat agent. With 30 years on Sydney Harbour, Chapman has a strong following in Sydney. And with that he has driven Fairline to new heights and sold five boats in the first year, he told us.

After landing the Phantom 48 pictured hereabouts, Chapman debuted a new Targa 64 with chic walnut joinery and light oak floors at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in May. Next, he will take delivery of a Targa 52 Mark II, a Targa 47 and a Targa 44. “The Targas have been doing well for us,” he explained.

But we believe the Phantom 48, a Euro-style flybridge cruiser released at last year's London Boat Show, is no less of a fitting example of the new Fairline marque. So-much-so that we sauntered aboard one afternoon for a spot of harbour cruising English-style. But first, the nuts and bolts.

ROYAL CARRIAGE
I am yet to hear of a hull problem in even the old Fairlines sold here. Construction of the Phantom 48 involves solid handlaid GRP for the hull using unidirectional, biaxial and woven rovings, and isophthalic gelcoat backed by isophthalic resin-rich powder-bound glass mat for extra water resistance. The deck is foam sandwich for insulation and weight savings, with the hull and deck bolted and bonded together. Oh, and there's a series of transverse and longitudinal stringers to strengthen the boat.

A pair of integrally moulded engine bearers supports the Volvo Penta 575hp D9 electronic diesel engines with common rail fuel injection and wet exhausts. These appear to be the only motor options for the boat, which I guess helps ensure accurate performance. The boat also comes with an 8hp bowthruster, but I must add that the EVC Volvo electronic shifts are just lovely to use and, though it has a flybridge, it's a low-profile, relatively low-windage boat and, thus, none too challenging to dock.

A deck hatch on gas struts grants access to the engineroom, where I noted more great engineering such as heavy-duty sea strainers with inspection bowls and a fuel system with changeover valve so each engine can draw fuel from, and return fuel to either alloy tank. There were external emergency fuel shut-off valves, Racor water and fuel separators and fuel filters, while the aerodynamically designed engine air intakes and fan-forced ventilation ensure the Volvos breath.

The Phantom 48 comes with 7kW generator and long-life batteries for engine cranking and its DC systems, but you get an upgraded 11kW gennie with the air-con option on this boat and, with that, a heated internal demister so you can drive from the lower helm on a typical dewy autumn or winter morning. And with the boat's upgraded Bose AV system you also get an inverter so you can watch a movie without needing to run the gennie. The ship's electrics, plumbing, lighting plans, and systems are still a cut above your average production boat.

Besides a 50cm TV and Bose system linked to an inverter there were options such as air-con in the aft owner's stateroom; fully fitted out aft crew cabin that includes a head; freshwater deckwashes; freezer under the galley floor; extra saloon fridge; and washer/drier.

Options also ran to a barbecue and icemaker on the flybridge; underwater lights; Raymarine E120 with 4kW radar; and interior upgrades such as Avonite counters, Skysol blinds and a 24-piece dinner service. You can also fit chocks to the integral boarding platform and an optional aft crane for carrying a tender. Or do as the owner had done and carry a roll-up duckie in the lazarette/aft cabin.

DECKED OUT
The Phantom 48 has a generous amount of deck space, especially up top for entertaining where the views are smashing. Having said that, the cockpit is big enough to mount a lunch table and a couple of loose chairs before the transom lounge, under which is a hatch leading into the crew cabin. And, bravo, there are generous walkaround decks with semi bulwarks, and cool blue LED lighting for superb access to the bow during, say, mooring duties or, when the clip-in cushions are fitted, for kicking back on the anchor.

But as with most Euro-style flybridge boats, the best seats are upstairs via the staircase leading from the cockpit, which was similarly crew friendly. The bridge teams practicality with pizzazz, offering a C-shaped aft lounge around a table for eight that converts to a sunpad; an amenities centre with solid teak top, electric barbie, icemaker, fridge and servery, and storage space; and twin helm and co-pilot bucket seats, plus another lounge alongside, before the dash with Raymarine E120 upgrade including radar.

There's a bimini for shade, but the views come gratis including a handy glimpse from the helm down the stairwell to the portside corner of the boarding platform. And being a low-profile flybridge, you get the sense that the boat has a low centre of gravity, which will come in handy when doing lunch at busy anchorages as well as during offshore passages.

Indoors, the windscreen before the lower helm has wipers and washers to help with vision. An intercom is a welcome, but oft forgotten feature fitted to this flybridge boat. And everything from fenders to mooring lines is bundled with the 48.

INTERIOR DESIGN
Like a femme fatale, the Fairline Phantom 48 has the bumps and curves in the right places, and exterior styling that lures you off the gangways and inside. And once you enter the saloon you'll be smitten. Forget ho-hum cherrywood. The raw white-oak joinery on this boat makes a more powerful statement, almost reminiscent of the austere arts and crafts furniture of the 1920s. Bold, practical and simple, and with natural bone-coloured lounge upholstery, glamour without glitz.

The nice big saloon door and split picture windows add to the sense of utility. Seating is by way of a U-shaped lounge around a convertible cocktail table and dinette, with a freestanding two-seater sofa opposite to port, and twin helm seats on a raised bridgedeck before the windscreen. There's a wet bar, a pullout and impressive flat-screen TV in a sideboard, and plenty of headroom and rails where you need them.

Though set down from the saloon, the galley isn't totally disconnected. As with all good yachts, it's a U-shaped space for access to everything from electric cooktop and microwave to fridge and optional in-floor freezer. And with stainless steel accents and solid counters, there is a hint of the industrial about the galley finish.

The Phantom 48's accommodation is revolutionary for a boat of this size: the owner's get a full-beam amidships stateroom normally reserved for 50-footers and above. The queen-sized bed runs athwartships with the bedhead butting up against the portside triple windows, thereby allowing you to sit up and enjoy the views. At the foot of the bed to starboard is a 50cm LCD TV that emerges, at the press of a button, from the cabinet. And full headroom and a mirrored wall add to the sense of space.

Meantime, black Avonite counters, white oak joinery, a white porcelain sink, Vacuflush loo and separate shower stall ensure the two en suites are suitably chic.

The guests' stateroom in the bow has a double island berth and plenty of storage in hanging lockers, side lockers and drawers, while the third cabin is unconventional in that you get a single bunk with a fold-down Pullman berth above it. And with the crew cabin, you can sleep six plus one, which suits the owner, a family man coming out of a Chris Craft, I'm told.

FAIRLINE CRUISING
The pale autumn sun was sinking in the west and a chill had descended on the ocean whose warmth started drawing an offshore convection breeze from the land. But the beauty about a boat like this is you can always head indoors to the lower helm. And with seriously good electric leather seats and an electric pop-up electronics panel, nothing, not even a British downpour, should prevent you from leaving dock and having a rollicking time.

Though I have said it many times, I can't help admire the way Fairline's hulls move through the water. With prop tunnels, aggressive chines and strakes, the boats lift bodily or horizontally, which assists vision, as you advance the throttles. The entry is quite raked, so the water tailing off the sharp entry fans out astern rather than as spray flicking over the boat's shoulders. And with 18 degrees of deadrise at the transom, there is plenty of wave-cutting power along the full length of the boat.

My figures underscore the fact that this is an efficient boat, with a 31-knot top end as tested, which is in keeping with Fairline's projection of 32 knots as, presumably, a light ship.

Moreover, sound levels seemed nice and low at cruise speeds of 2000rpm and 22kts, where fuel consumption is 120lt/h according to the Volvo Penta charts. That being the case, your safe cruising range from 90 per cent of the boat's 1664lt tank is 275nm - pretty reasonable.

Fast cruise at 2200rpm returned 26kts for 150lt/h, while maximum continuous of 2400rpm gave 28kts. But these figures pale compared with the dignified ride. That's something the English are renowned for and something, more and more Australians are coveting in their luxury cruisers - tally ho.

LOWS